Black wins
From our friends at the AP:
RALEIGH (AP) — The state Board of Elections has agreed to certify House Speaker Jim Black as the winner over Hal Jordan in state House District 100.
Update:And now, more from the Associated Press:
The state Board of Elections unanimously agreed Tuesday to certify House Speaker Jim Black as the winner in his unexpectedly close re-election race against Republican challenger Hal Jordan.Black, one of the Legislature's most powerful Democrats, led Jordan in the Charlotte-area district by 30 votes — 5,340 votes to 5,310 — after last week's recount. The board agreed that it had found nothing to indicate that the margin wouldn't hold up despite voting problems in one voting precinct.
Jordan said after board's vote he would decide within the next two days whether to appeal the ruling to Superior Court, but he agreed it appeared that he had fallen short in his bid to unseat the Mecklenburg County Democrat.
"The math says I would have fallen short by more than 100 votes," Jordan said.
In a way, Black’s apparent victory is good news for Democrats looking to move beyond his troubled past couple years as Speaker.
That’s because Democratic leaders haven’t been willing to get together and talk about who will be Speaker next year until all the races for the next House session were settled. Black’s was one of those races.
If Jordan doesn’t appeal, this will clear the way for the Dems to get together and at least begin talking formally about leadership next year. And if their caucus could settle on a consensus candidate they could stick with, they could start talking about Speaker Whoever-it-is rather than Speaker Black.
Of course, given the number of people who want the job, the various and shifting alliances within the party and the vagaries of intramural legislative politics, it’s just as likely they’ll drag things out until session begins on Jan. 24.